


Another Mentality

by mistilteinn



Series: Nedgene College AU [5]
Category: Buzzfeed The Try Guys (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, It's gross, M/M, they're so in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-27
Updated: 2019-07-27
Packaged: 2020-07-20 15:16:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19994341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistilteinn/pseuds/mistilteinn
Summary: Eugene and Ned deal with the mid-semester slump.(Alternatively: Ned is ridiculous. Eugene loves him regardless.)





	Another Mentality

**Author's Note:**

> you know the drill - if your name is in the tags, this ain't for you. 
> 
> this is just for fun! do i actually want to pull either of them from their significant others/families? absolutely not. 
> 
> do i enjoy using their likenesses to practice writing? absolutely.
> 
> am i going to continue? i sure hope so.
> 
> (title from "no tears left to cry" by ariana grande)

It’s mid-March, which means that something is happening with college basketball. Eugene’s not exactly sure what that may be, but it’s definitely something. Ned has been talking about his fantasy league for the past several weeks, and Eugene has been trying to listen, but he keeps getting distracted by the way Ned’s mouth curves around the phrase “point guard.” 

And that’s patently ridiculous, because that’s not even a particularly sexual sounding sports-word, but there’s something about the shape his lips make, the flick of his tongue against the front of his teeth at the end of “point,” and maybe Eugene’s a little bit whipped and a lot bit sexually frustrated.

See, they haven’t seen much of each other beyond their twice-weekly scheduled lunches in the last few weeks, and that means that they haven’t gone at it in a lot longer than they’ve both become accustomed to. And, yes, they’ve both been busy - far busier than ever before, with the soccer season starting up again, midterms hitting them hard, and Eugene’s relatively recent foray into the service industry.

Most nights over the past month, Eugene has barely managed to stumble into his apartment after finishing his shift at Lunasia, falling into bed with nothing more than a quick text to let Ned know he got home safe. He’s been waking up in the mornings sore and still exhausted, dragging himself up and to the gym with nothing more than spite aimed towards the world at large fueling his workouts.

“Eugene,” Zach says loudly from across the table, and he startles from his haze, losing his grip on his fork from where he had it (slowly) moving towards his mouth.

He watches it fall, clattering onto his plate and spilling its contents sadly over the rest of his tray. Sharp irritation pierces through the mental fog and he frowns fiercely, bringing his eyes up to meet those of both of his bespectacled friends. 

Zach and Keith are looking at him with no small amount of concern, and he’s already embarrassed about getting pissed off. Zach didn’t mean to surprise him, make him drop his food - that’s his own problem. 

With that in mind, Eugene lets the glare drop from his face and he sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose before answering.

“Sorry, I - I don’t know what’s up with me. What did I miss?” 

Keith and Zach exchange a look before Zach responds. “Nothing, man. You just looked like you were about to fall asleep into your oatmeal.”

“Death by breakfast - not your best look,” Keith helpfully adds, and Eugene snorts despite himself.

“I think - I think I just miss Ned, you know? It’s been a while since we’ve hung out,” he admits, and he’s gratified when Keith nods knowingly in answer. He knows how tough it is to be without his significant other for a long period of time - Becky’s school is back in Chicago, and though they make an effort to visit each other whenever possible, it’s often only during breaks that they’re able to spend time together.

Zach wrinkles his brow and looks at Eugene over his glasses as he adjusts them. Eugene can feel the loving (but likely misguided) advice before it ever leaves his mouth.

“Have you told Ned about how you’re feeling?”

Eugene answers immediately. “No, of course not. Why would I do that?”

Keith’s expression slips into a frown, and Zach’s mouth hangs open a bit. They look - well, dumbfounded is the only word Eugene can come up with to accurately describe his two best friends. 

After a long, awkward moment, Eugene cracks. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Of course we talked about it - I took the night off and we’re going out tonight after his practice ends.”

A beat.

Then both of his friends are laughing, relief apparent in the way Keith’s shoulders sag, and Zach reaches across the table to shove Eugene lightly.

“You can’t _do_ that to us, asshole!” 

\---

Eugene picks up Ned from his dorm a few hours later, after the other man has had time to shower and change after soccer. They’re going to a lacrosse party - not necessarily Eugene’s idea of a good time, but Zack E. had invited them several days ago, and Eugene hadn’t seen his old roommate in over a month, so he and Ned felt it best to at least pop in and say hello. 

Ned opens the door to his room and Eugene short-circuits for a moment. 

His boyfriend is no fashionista - Eugene knows that. But Ned _does_ generally have an idea of what works and he doesn’t usually stray too far from his tried-and-true khaki and polo combo.

Today, though.

Today Ned is wearing nothing but green. At least seven different shades, ranging from kelly to forest to neon and beyond. It’s an assault on Eugene’s eyes and an affront to his sensibilities.

“I…” he starts, unsure of what he can possibly say without ruining this relationship in one fell swoop.

“Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!” Ned chirps, looking happier than Eugene’s seen in weeks at least, and he feels so guilty for his judgment, but _really,_ those shoes should be illegal.

“...You’re not Irish,” he finally manages, thankfully sounding more neutral than he could have hoped. 

Distantly, he realizes that Ned is dressed up as some kind of sexy leprechaun, complete with short shorts and knee socks.

Ned tilts his head cutely, and Eugene feels a surge of some positive emotion in his chest. He ignores it. 

“Well...no,” Ned starts slowly, his big eyes looking even greener than normal by virtue of his ensemble. Then he smirks and Eugene’s stomach flips pleasantly. “But I _am_ American, and that means it’s my responsibility to bastardize other cultures at every available opportunity.” 

Eugene blinks.

“That’s - you’re an idiot,” he starts, pushing Ned backward into his room. “Take your pants off.”

\---

The party is a bust, Eugene decides after a beer and a half. Zack E.’s nowhere to be found, Ned’s catching up with a girl from his dorm last year, and he’s stuck making idle conversation with a couple of lacrosse players, i.e. the most boring humans on the planet. Stick, ball, net, big whoop. Come up with some original equipment for your sport and Eugene’ll be impressed. Incorporate a mace or something. Whatever.

So Eugene’s slowly dying (or, at least, he feels like he is) while this condescending asshole tries continuously to explain the nuances of the scoring system and _why,_ exactly, men’s lacrosse is contact while women’s is not. 

He seems unable to grasp the idea that Eugene is uninterested and has instead landed on Eugene being unable to understand, so he keeps repeating himself in simpler terms. It’s irritating enough that Eugene’s white-knuckling the beer can in his fist, is imagining this guy’s head swelling more and more until it explodes in order to entertain himself as the minutes slowly tick by.

Then Ned appears at his side and Eugene breathes a sigh of relief, barely resists the intense urge in the pit of his stomach to press his face into his boyfriend’s hair and inhale deeply. 

Ned easily curls an arm around Eugene’s waist and sends him a winning smile, green eyes somehow sparkling even in the shitty living room light, and just the sight of him is enough to make Eugene’s heart pound in his chest, a matching smile curve unbidden over his own mouth.

Then the other guy makes a disgusted noise, snorts into his drink, and he must be far drunker than Eugene initially thought, because he says “fuckin’ fags,” in a tone that was clearly meant to be under his breath but that is instead audible to everyone in the immediate vicinity.

Eugene swings his head around, eyebrows raised, and time seems to slow down. He’s had more than enough of this asshole for a lifetime. And, yeah, there are other people looking at them now, but Eugene’s been in his fair share of scuffles over the years, and there’s no doubt in his mind that he can take this piece of shit and any buddies who decide to step in. 

So he’s clenching his hand, is pulling back - 

Ned lands a punch across the asshole’s face, fist connecting with flesh punctuated by a sickening crunch. 

The guy shouts, stumbles backward into a few people, thereby drawing even more attention to their little fucked-up section of the party, and suddenly he’s coming back, pissed off and hurt and catching Ned’s nose and cheek with a wide swing, and Eugene just - sees red. 

It’s like something inside of him snaps, and he’s on the guy, a vicious excitement burning through his veins, lighting him up. 

He can’t tell if it’s from anger or residual adrenaline, but either way, Eugene’s shaking when two guys he’s never met finally yank him away, pulling hard at his arms and the fabric of his shirt, nearly tearing the soft flannel in their effort.

He gets his footing back and shrugs them both off, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. And he doesn’t remember getting hit, but the skin is bright red, covered in blood, so the asshole must’ve gotten at least one good swing in. 

Eugene blinks rapidly and the rest of the world slowly comes back into focus. More pairs of eyes on them than he can count. 

The ringing in his ears starts to fade away, and he hears Ned behind him, repeating - “Eugene, Eugene, it’s time to go, we should go -” 

He nods shortly and steps back, lets Ned take his hand and drag him out of there. 

\---

Eugene stays quiet during the drive home. He watches a bruise bloom under Ned’s right eye and wonders if his nose is broken. He’s broken it before, Eugene remembers. Some soccer fight that resulted in Ned almost getting banned from his club league.

His own knuckles are throbbing now, but he avoids looking down at them; the idea of seeing his and that asshole’s blood mixed on his skin again sends his stomach churning. He almost asks Ned to pull over so he can throw up. Instead, he clenches his jaw and hopes he did some serious damage.

He doesn’t actually speak until they’re both seated on the floor of his (cramped) bathroom, legs tangled together and first aid kit strewn around them.

“Can’t believe you hulked out so fast,” Eugene starts, wincing when his words come out slurred. Ned takes stock of each of his injuries and gingerly brings a cotton pad up to brush against a split in Eugene’s rapidly swelling lip.

It stings, and Eugene blinks away the tear that’s welled up in his left eye, holds Ned’s free hand tightly in his own. Feels their heartbeats flutter together.

“Can’t believe you’re letting me take care of you,” Ned murmurs, the fresh bruises under his eyes purple and the small smile curling his mouth brilliant. 

Eugene falls in love all over again. 

“This wasn’t the date night I had planned,” he says after a moment, because he can’t say _beating up that asshole with you was more fun than I’ve had in weeks._

Then Ned snorts and winces (and, yeah, his nose is definitely broken again), and responds. “It was still good, though, right? The streets were cleaned up and all that?”

Eugene blinks at him and Ned continues, the tips of his ears turning an adorable red, “...okay, the halls of the lacrosse house were cleaned up. We’re like a superhero couple, ridding the world of homophobia one dumb jock at a time.”

 _You’re such a dork,_ Eugene thinks, _I can’t believe I’m dating you_. 

When he opens his mouth, he accidentally says, “move in with me.”

Ned looks surprised for a moment, and Eugene realizes that he means it. He means it maybe more than he’s ever meant anything in his life, and he finds himself holding his breath waiting for Ned to answer.

“Only if we keep the full-sized bed. We’re not upgrading just so you can try to get out of morning cuddles - I know how you work.” Ned’s tone is teasing and his smile is light, but there’s a genuine spark of excitement in his eyes and Eugene has a flash of them shopping at IKEA, unpacking each other’s boxes, finding places for all of Ned’s sports memorabilia and his own numerous stacks of books. 

He can’t fucking wait. 

“Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> sorry about the long wait between Meet Me (Under the Mistletoe) and this one! 
> 
> i've had the outline to this for months, but i was caught up trying to write a totally different AU one shot from Ned's pov where they got snowed in during Keith’s bachelor party (cue sexual tension), and that's been kicking my ass since literally December, so who knows if it'll ever get finished.
> 
> comments help me fight the writer’s block and kudos validate my feelings! let me know if you enjoyed this at all! i definitely need the encouragement


End file.
